DefenceTalkBritish military equipment maker BAE Systems said Thursday that it won a record-high number of orders last year, the start of which saw Russia invade Ukraine. Orders totaled pound37.1 billion ($44.7 billion) in 2022, and BAE said it expected “renewed importance of armored combat vehicles in the Ukraine conflict to benefit” the group going forward. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/bae-systems-announces-record-military-orders-79892/

DefenceTalkRussian lawmakers on Wednesday unanimously approved the suspension of Moscow’s participation in the New START arms treaty, which President Vladimir Putin announced a day earlier. New START, the last nuclear arms control pact between Russia and the United States, commits them to limiting their stockpile of nuclear warheads. The backing by both chambers of Russia’s […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russian-deputies-back-putin-over-nuclear-arms-treaty-79888/

DefenceTalkSouth Africa’s military on Wednesday defended its decision to host controversial naval exercises jointly staged with Russia and China and coinciding with the one-year anniversary of the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. Originally slated to start last week, the exercise dubbed Mosi-II kicked off on Wednesday along South Africa’s eastern coast. But coming on the eve […]https://www.defencetalk.com/south-africa-army-defends-naval-drills-with-russia-79883/

DefenceTalkThe United States on Sunday accused China of considering arming Russia in its war against Ukraine, ratcheting up tensions as the conflict hits its one-year mark this week. Secretary of State Antony Blinken leveled the allegations as US-Chinese relations have been further tested by Washington’s shooting down this month of what it said was a […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-says-china-mulling-arming-russia-in-ukraine-war-79879/

DefenceTalkAn Israeli missile strike killed 15 people and destroyed a residential building in the Syrian capital of Damascus, a war monitor said Sunday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strike, which hit close to an Iranian cultural center, had killed 15 people including civilians. Since the beginning of the war in Syria in […]https://www.defencetalk.com/israeli-strike-in-damascus-kills-15-monitor-79871/

DefenceTalkJapanese and Chinese officials will hold senior-level security discussions next week for the first time since February 2019, Tokyo’s top diplomat said Saturday. Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi held a meeting for nearly an hour Saturday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany, his office said […]https://www.defencetalk.com/japan-china-agree-to-hold-senior-level-defence-talks-79867/

DefenceTalkNorth Korea said Sunday it had test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile as a warning to Washington and Seoul, saying the successful “surprise” drill demonstrated Pyongyang’s capacity to launch a “fatal nuclear counterattack”. In response, the US and South Korea staged joint air drills featuring a strategic bomber and stealth fighter jets, Seoul said. North Korean […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-korea-says-it-fired-icbm-as-warning-to-us-seoul-79863/

DefenceTalkCountries including the United States and China called Thursday for urgent action to regulate the development and growing use of artificial intelligence in warfare, warning that the technology “could have unintended consequences”. A two-day meet in The Hague involving more than 60 countries took the first steps towards establishing international rules on use of AI […]https://www.defencetalk.com/countries-urge-action-for-rules-on-ai-use-in-war-79875/

DefenceTalkNATO members relaunched debate Wednesday on the thorny issue of ramping up national defence spending targets as Russia’s war on Ukraine has upended security. Moscow’s nearly year-long all-out invasion of its neighbor has seen a string of European allies commit to spending billions more on their armed forces. Some at the US-led Western military alliance […]https://www.defencetalk.com/nato-debates-raising-defense-spending-target-79859/

DefenceTalkUkraine’s Western backers will meet for a second day on Wednesday looking to speed up deliveries of ammunition and arms to Kyiv, which is also demanding fighter jets. After securing commitments for tanks, air defences and precision missiles, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has doubled down on his plea for Western aircraft. But allies meeting at […]https://www.defencetalk.com/ukraines-allies-work-to-keep-arms-flowing-79855/